On June 7, 1917, the British 2nd Army, led by Herbert Plumer, scores a crushing victory over the Germans at Messines Ridge in northern France, marking the successful prelude to an Allied offensive designed to break the grinding stalemate on the Western Front in World War I.

British forces put careful planning into the Battle of Messines Ridge: for the previous 18 months, soldiers had worked to place nearly 1 million pounds of explosives in tunnels under the German positions. The tunnels extended to some 2,000 feet in length, and some were as much as 100 feet below the surface of the ridge, where the Germans had long since been entrenched.

At 3:10 a.m. on June 7, 1917, a series of simultaneous explosions rocked the area; the blast was heard as far away as London. As a German observer described the explosions: “nineteen gigantic roses with carmine petals, or…enormous mushrooms,…rose up slowly and majestically out of the ground and then split into pieces with a mighty roar, sending up multi-colored columns of flame mixed with a mass of earth and splinters high in the sky.” German losses that day included more than 10,000 men who died instantly, along with some 7,000 prisoners—men who were too stunned and disoriented by the explosions to resist the infantry assault.

Although Messines Ridge itself was a relatively limited victory, it had a considerable effect. The Germans were forced to retreat to the east, a sacrifice that marked the beginning of their gradual but continuous loss of territory on the Western Front. It also secured the right flank of the British thrust towards the much-contested Ypres region, the eventual objective of the planned offensive. Over the next month and a half, British forces continued to push the Germans back toward the high ridge at Passchendaele, which on July 31 saw the launch of the British offensive—known as the Battle of Passchendaele or the Third Battle of Ypres—in earnest.

The HMAT A55 Kyarra weighed 6,953 tons with an average cruise speed of 14 knots or 25.92 kmph. It was owned by the AUSN Co Ltd, London, and manned by Australia officers and crew. The Kyarra was leased by the Commonwealth until 4 January 1918. The Kyarra was torpedoed and sunk by a submarine in the English Channel, 26 May 1918.

Immediately adjacent to the British Serre Road No 1 Cemetery you will find the French Military Cemetery.

There are 834 soldiers from the French 51è Infantry Division buried in the cemetery plus a further 267 unidentified soldiers buried in the ossuary.

Most of the casualties here are from the fierce fighting in June 1915. A monument to the bravery of the soldiers was first raised in 1917 and following this the Remembrance Association of the 243è RI asked for permission to buy land for a grave yard and to erect a proper memorial to their fallen. (...)

Historical Information

The village gave its name to a severe action fought by the French on the 7th-13th June 1915, in the Second Battle of Artois.

Hoping to create a diversion south of Arras where his men were fighting for Vimy Ridge, General Joffre ordered his 2nd Army under General de Castelnau to create an offensive in the Somme Sector.

Just southeast of the village of Hébuterne was the farm of Toutvent which had been turned into a stronghold by the occupying Germans of the 169th Regiment. The farm gave a commanding view of the valley to the west and it was vital that it was taken before the French could continue any further attacks in the area.

On 7 June 1915 de Castelnau launched his opening attack on the farm from a quarry on the Hébuterne - Colincamps road known today as la Briqueterie. The German front lines were taken and held despite strong counter attacks by the Germans.

The 137 RI from the Vendée (32nd Division) stormed the farm at great cost but gaining a citation for their valour which was matched by a visit by the French President Raymond Poincaré on 5 July 1915.

On 8 June a second attack was launched - this time slightly to the north and against another farm called La Louvière. This was beaten off at great cost to the French, but de Castelnau was determined to press on.

He had been one of the originators along with Joffre of the idea of attack at all costs and he was certainly sticking to his principles. A third attack against Serre would be launched but this time from further south along the road from Mailly-Maillet.

France and Flanders (the Western Front): General situation in the middle of 1915

From the closing May days of the Battles of Ypres and Festubert, until the September opening of the Battle of Loos and the French attacks in Champagne, there was no general change in the situation on the Western Front. It was a period of static warfare, where the army suffered average losses of 300 men a day from sniping and shellfire, while they continued to gradually improve and consolidate the trenches. Both sides increased the tempo of underground mine warfare, which was feared greatly by the infantry in the front positions. At the request of French Commander-in-Chief Joffre, on 7-8 June 1915, the British Second Army extended its left to Boesinghe, thus placing it for the first time in complete occupation of the Ypres salient. Late in May, the First Army also extended, going southwards 5 miles from Cuinchy towards Lens. During August a Third Army was formed, taking over a 15-mile front from Curlu to Hébuterne, on the Somme. Further discussions about Allied dispositions and strategy took place at the 1st Inter-Allied Military Conference on 7 July 1915.

http://www.1914-1918.net/bat12.htm_________________
“I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, l hope you have the strength to start all over again.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

June 7th 1916 - We left our billets and went to the edge of the village, moving undercover of the broken walls, then entered a communication trench called 'Yale Street' (of y sector y29) moved along this trench in daylight for 300yds and then we were only 100yds from our own front line, and 400yds from the enemy front line, this 'com' trench was in places only 3ft deep, and we were exposed to the enemy fire, and our own work was to deepen this trench to 7ft, also make it wide enough for two men to pass, no earth could be thrown on top, but had to be put in sandbags and passed down the trench.

Everything went well 'till 3o'clock in the afternoon when 'Jerry' started to strafe, and strafed us away from the work, and managed it without any casualties, during the time we were working we had to keep our equipment on, also rifles at hand, and leaving the trench we looked 'rum cutters' being covered with mud and clay, all around the place were 'gas alarms'. This day was the first time I had been close to the enemy lines, and the first time I had got as far as a Support trench.

The two paintings were almost sold in 1916 in a complex set of dealings between London’s National Gallery and Henry Clay Frick

The two Titians of Diana, Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, both 1556-59, were nearly sold at the height of World War One, when the National Gallery in London and American collector Henry Clay Frick competed to buy them. Joseph Duveen, the key intermediary, told Frick that the Titians were the greatest paintings in the world. The price asked for the pair was £420,000, an enormous sum at the time.

Most astonishing is what occurred at the National Gallery—and the extraordinary lengths it was prepared to go to in order to acquire them. Lord Curzon, the trustee who then effectively ran the museum, proposed buying both Diana paintings. Diana and Actaeon was to be kept, but Diana and Callisto would be sold on at a large profit, passing to a secret “syndicate” of the four leading Anglo-American dealers—Agnew, Colnaghi, Duveen and Knoedler.

The Art Newspaper has delved into the untold story of the 1916 Titian negotiations, combining material from archives in London, Glasgow, New York and Los Angeles.

In 1916 Frick was 66, but he was still a voracious collector, using the vast wealth he had accumulated as an industrialist. On 5 February he wrote to Lord Ellesmere’s family (who had inherited the Bridgewater collection, including major paintings by Titian, Raphael, Poussin and Rembrandt), asking if they would sell the two Titians of Diana. “I have space in my gallery which would accommodate them nicely,” he explained. Although originally Lord Ellesmere hoped to do a direct deal, cutting out commissions, both Duveen and Agnew soon came on board to act for him.

On 7 June 1916 Lord Ellesmere’s solicitor met London dealer Lockett Agnew, stating the price of £420,000 for the pair. This was an enormous sum: with the exception of Leonardo’s Benois Madonna, around 1478 (bought two years earlier by Czar Nicholas II for £310,000), no painting had ever sold for more than £117,000. (In today’s money, £420,000 represents the equivalent of over £20m.)

Duveen passed on Agnew’s news to Frick, dismissing the price as “simply outrageous” and saying that they should be able to secure the Titians for £300,000. Duveen added: “I have often told you that I consider them to be the greatest [paintings] owned by any private person in the world, but I go further and declare that in my opinion no museum possesses anything that I would prefer to these masterpieces.” He also passed on a letter from his art historian advisor Bernard Berenson, who wrote from his Florentine villa to say that they are “among the greatest on earth”.

It has been argued that the Battle of Messines was the most successful local operation of the war, certainly of the Western Front. Carried out by General Herbert Plumer's Second Army, it was launched on 7 June 1917 with the detonation of 19 underground mines underneath the German mines.

The target of the offensive was the Messines Ridge, a natural stronghold southeast of Ypres, and a small German salient since late 1914. The attack was also a precursor to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele, decided upon by the British Commander-in-Chief Sir Douglas Haig following the collapse of the French Nivelle Offensive earlier in May 1917.

General Plumer had begun plans to take the Messines Ridge a year early in early-1916. Meticulous in manner, Plumer preferred to plan for limited successes rather than gamble all on a significant breakthrough.

In preparing for the Messines battle he had authorised the laying of 22 mine shafts underneath German lines all along the ridge, his plan being to detonate all 22 at zero hour at 03:10 on 7 June 1917, to be followed by infantry attacks so as to secure the ridge from the presumably dazed German defenders, the infantry heavily supported by the use of artillery bombardments, tanks and the use of gas. Work on laying the mines began some 18 months before zero hour.

One mine, at Petite Douve Farm, was discovered by German counter miners on 24 August 1916 and destroyed. A further two mines close to Ploegsteert Wood were not exploded as they were outside the planned attack area.

In the face of active German counter-mining, 8,000 metres of tunnel were constructed under German lines. Occasionally the tunnellers would encounter German counterparts engaged in the same task: underground hand to hand fighting would ensure.

Heavy preliminary artillery bombardment of the German lines was begun on 21 May, involving 2,300 guns and 300 heavy mortars, ceasing at 02:50 on the morning of 7 June. The German troops, sensing imminent attack, rushed to their defensive positions, machine guns ready, meanwhile sending up flares to detect British movement towards the ridge.

Silence prevailed for the following twenty minutes until, at 03:10, the order was given across the line to detonate the mines, which totalled 600 tons of explosive. Of the 21 mines laid 19 were exploded.

The invariable loss of surprise in the use of a preliminary bombardment was entirely offset by the effect of the mines, which blew the crest off the Messines-Wytschaete ridge. Audible in Dublin and by Lloyd George in his Downing Street study, the combined sound of the simultaneous mine explosions comprised the loudest man-made explosion until that point. The lighting up of the sky as the detonations ran across the ridge was likened to a 'pillar of fire'.

The effect of the mine explosions upon the German defenders was devastating. Some 10,000 men were killed during the explosion alone. In its wake nine divisions of infantry advanced under protection of a creeping artillery barrage, tanks and gas attacks from the new Livens projectors which were designed to throw gas canisters directly into the enemy trenches.

All initial objectives were taken within three hours. Reserves from General Gough's Fifth Army and the French First Army under Anthoine reached their own final objectives by mid-afternoon.

German troops counter-attacked on 8 June, without success, in fact losing further ground as the attacks were repelled. German counter-attacks continued in diminishing form until 14 June: by this stage the entire Messines salient was in Allied hands.

The Messines battle, which greatly boosted morale among the Allies, signified the first time on the Western Front that defensive casualties actually exceeded attacking losses: 25,000 against 17,000.

Of the two mines which remained undetonated on 7 June, the details of their precise location were mislaid by the British following the war, to the discomfort of local townspeople. One of the mines was detonated in a thunderstorm on 17 June 1955: the only casualty was a dead cow. The second mine remains undetected, although in recent years its location is believed to have been pinpointed. No-one has as yet attempted its recovery.

Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE (13 March 1857 – 16 July 1932) was a British colonial official and soldier born in Torquay who commanded the British Second Army in World War I and later served as High Commissioner of the British Mandate of Palestine. (...)

He served in the Second Army in Flanders during World War I, during which he won an overwhelming victory over the German Army at the Battle of Messines in 1917.

Plumer is generally regarded as one of the finest army commanders serving in France during World War One. Like the majority of generals on the Western Front he was from an infantry, as opposed to a cavalry background and deprecated the insistence on the value of the "breakthrough" and the effectiveness of cavalry to exploit the opening and reach the open country beyond the front line.

As a career Infantry officer and it could be argued that he understood somewhat better what could reasonably be expected of his troops bearing in mind the terrain, the weather and morale. Plumer, a meticulous planner, would often express the plans of his superiors as being too ambitious and more often than not, as seen at the Third Battle of Ypres, he would be proved to be right.

Plumer was very popular with the men gaining the affectionate nickname "old Plum" and "Daddy Plumer". He was a cliché of a General to look at; with a receding chin and a white moustache, his appearance suggested on the photographs of the day everything that he was not.

9th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment: War Diary entries for the Battle of Messines Ridge

June 7th [1917] At 3.10 am (zero hour) our artillery opened up a terrific barrage on the Hun front line & simultaneously the mines under Hill 60 and the CATERPILLAR were blown. At zero +1 (minute) the first wave consisting of B Coy on the left & A Coy on the right went over, and were followed by D Coy (moppers up) & C Coy (Harry's Company) in support at short intervals. The attack progressed very favourably and by zero + 30 the Bn had reached its objective and began consolidating. Very few casualties were sustained in the actual attack. At zero + 3hr 40mins the 8th Bn York & Lancaster Bn & the 8th Bn KOYLI on the right and left respectively, went over from our objective and reached the final objective of the Brigade.

June 9th [1917] The Bn remained in its objectives until the evening of the 9th. During this period the Bn underwent heavy shelling & sustained many casualties. B Coy also relieved the 8th Bn Y & L in the front line on the morning of the 9th. On the evening of the 9th the Bn was relieved by the 1st N Staffs Bn. The total casualties sustained were officers - killed 4 (including the C.O.) wounded 6. O.Rs - Killed 39, wounded 211. Died of wounds 9. Missing 18. **

Night of 9th/10th June [1917] On relief the Bn moved by motor lorry from KRUISTRAAT to SCOTTISH LINES. Capt. D Lewis took over temp command of Bn at midday on June 7th* from Lt Col Bowes-Wilson, killed in action 7.6.17. Coys at O.C Coys disposal for cleaning up and re-organisation

* Added in very small writing as a superscript.

The very last line took a bit of understanding. To decipher; "Companies are to do whatever their Company Commander feels suitable to clean up and to sort out the organisation".

I would suppose that the gaps due to casualties needed to be sorted.

**To understand the scale of casualties, the battalion would consist of around 1000 men. Over a quarter were killed or wounded in this "successful" attack.

(...) Lone Tree Cemetery. A green oasis in the middle of the West-Flemish scenery. It is still, the only sound the wind that rustles the leaves of the willows around the water's edge. Round about is a colourful patchwork quilt of fields -now lying fallow -with just here and there the red of the roof of a farmhouse. In the distance the spire of the church in Wulverhem and the stumpier one of the church in Nieuwkerke.

The cemetery is surrounded by a brick wall. Eighty-eight white stones stand on the closely-mown grass. With a tall white cross standing several metres above the ground. There is a bronze sword on the cross. The gravestones do not give much. The names, the unit, the day on which they were killed, and the age. They were nearly all from the Royal Ulster Rifles, a battalion of the 36th Ulster Division. The same date, 7 June 1917, is engraved on each stone.

It is said that the underground explosion tinkled the crystal chandeliers in Buckingham Palace in London. In Lille, some tens of kilometers behind the front, the series of explosions caused panic. An earthquake?

The earth leapt to the skies, the morning of the Big Bang, 7 June 1917. What came out of the higher ground situated south of Ypres, was an inferno of stone, steel and above all, mud. The unsuspecting Germans, for years lords and masters of the strategically situated Messines Ridge, were pulverised in one mighty thunderclap.

Observers on the Allied side could scarcely believe their eyes. One of the British tunnelers said, "The earth seemed to open and rise into the air. Flames shot upwards, everywhere was dust and smoke. And everything that went up eventually fell back to earth."

Momentarily the forward troops stood rooted to the ground. "None of us'" said one later on, "had ever seen anything like it. It was a mass of fire. The whole world seemed to explode."

The next moment, the whole front, static since November 1914, burst in movement. The men of the 36th Ulster Division stormed out of their trenches. This was a tableau they had so often performed in the previous three years during the First World War, since the first day, when the Germans invaded France and Belgium, until the summer of 1917, the eve of the Third Battle of Ypres. A throng of young fellows, many not yet 20 years old and many with a family, fired, like politicians and commanders, with the conviction that one decisive trick might bring the Great War to an end.

When the Irishmen conquered the Messines Ridge, they gained an outstanding advantage. For months, work had progressed on the Allied side on tunnels, varying in length from 65 to 700 metres. They reached right under the German emplacements, which caused death and destruction in this sector. Through their positions above the flat Flemish landscape, they could follow every detail of movements of the British army around Ypres. With field-guns, howitzers and mortars they bombarded strong points. The British did not even try to storm the ridge- the Germans, with barbed-wire, machine-gun nests and concrete, had turned it into a fortress.

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“I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, l hope you have the strength to start all over again.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have found another letter that is, I am afraid out of time order. It was filed with other material and I didn’t recognise its significance. This letter is from Harry’s brother, Jack to sister Kate. Jack was, at the time, an Anglican Clergyman in Hull in the North of England. Kate was a nurse in London. I have certificates in midwifery and “hygiene” that could well have been a result of the exams mentioned.

It was actually written on the 7th June 1917, the day of the battle of Messines Ridge. I can't help making a link from this peaceful clergyman writing a letter in Hull about his brother, this soldier enduring terrific horrors as that day progesses.

The letter from Harry that Jack refers to is probably the letter of 2nd June.

20 Ryde St
Hull
7th June 1917

Dear Kate

Just a line to let you know that I’ve heard from Harry this morning. He would very much like to hear from you. His address is

I hope you will get on all right with your exam. Have you seen the question papers of former years and do you know off by heart the act of parliament you ought to. I see you had another air raid not very far from London. Did you hear anything of it? I am in the best of health although very hard worked. Mr Thomas is very interested in his work in France.
With lots of love
J.E. Lamin

Mr. PONSONBY asked whether His Majesty's Government have any official knowledge of a statement made on the German Chancellor's authority to the effect that Germany wishes no increase of territory nor any political or economical increase of power, that it merely wants to defend its own national territory against foreign plans of conquest, and also wants guarantees necessary for future defence and self-protection?

(...) Albert Charles Jennings sailed from Nelson on 6 January 1915 to join the 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade New Zealand forces to fight in The Great War. His regimental number was 6/1887 in C Company 4th Rifles. January, February and March were spent training at Trentham and he embarked for Europe via Australia on 17th April 1915.

Bert was not involved in the most famous military actions to involve New Zealanders - Gallipoli - as he was still in Australia on 29 April 1915. However, he was involved in the Sari Bair Offensive in August 1915. Bert's military history sheet records him wounded on the 8th June 1915 in the Dardanelles and again on 7 - 9 August 1915 in the left arm and right leg. On 23 August he was located in Alexandria, Egypt.

On 19 October Bert embarked on SS Marquette after service injury and recovery from the Gallipoli Campaign. The H.M.Transport S.S. Marquette left Alexandria Harbour, Egypt, in the late afternoon on October 19 1915 for Salonica, Greece. The Marquette was sunk on 23 October by a torpedo, with heavy loss of life, after her French escort had left her.

Bert spent some months recovering from injuries in hospital in England. He sent many letters home, including the following, the day before his death:

Somewhere at the Front, June 6th 1917
Dear Harriet
Just a line to tell you that I am thinking of you all at home. I am just going into a big battle so I may not be able to get home again. But this is a soldiers chance and I must take it with the rest of the boys. Give my love to all at home and I hope you are all well. Love from Bert.

He was killed at Messines on June 7 1917.

The Register of the Messines Ridge [NZ] memorial records particulars of 840 New Zealand dead. The Register records:

JENNINGS, Sergeant Albert Charles, 6/1887 2nd Canterbury Regiment. Killed in action 7 June 1917, age 37. Son of James and Susan Jennings of Weka Street Nelson. Served in the South African campaign.

Robert Cuthbert Grieve VC (19 June 1889 – 4 October 1957) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War. He was the great nephew of Sergeant-Major John Grieve, also a Victoria Cross recipient.

Born in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, to John and Annie Deas Grieve (née Brown), Grieve was educated at Caulfield Grammar School and Wesley College. He became an interstate commercial traveller in the softgoods trade.

After nine months service in the Victorian Rangers, he enlisted in the A.I.F. as a private on 9 June 1915. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 37th Battalion (Victoria) in January 1916, was promoted to lieutenant in May 1916, and after training in England, was promoted to captain in France in February 1917.

In France he served at Armentières, Bois-Grenier, L'Epinette, Ploegsteert Wood, Messines, La Bassée Ville, and Warneton.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Messines. The Digest of Citation reads:

On 7 June 1917 at Messines, Belgium, during an attack on the enemy's position, and after his own company had suffered very heavy casualties, Captain Grieve located two hostile machine-guns which were holding up his advance. Under continuous heavy fire from the two guns, he succeeded in bombing and killing the two gun crews, then reorganized the remnants of his own company and gained his original objective. Captain Grieve set a splendid example and when he finally fell, wounded, the position had been secured.

Severely wounded in the shoulder by a sniper's bullet, Grieve was evacuated to England, and on recovery returned to his unit in October. However, due to subsequently suffering acute trench nephritis and double pneumonia, he was invalided to Australia in May 1918. On 7 August, at Scots Church, Sydney, he married Sister May Isabel Bowman of the Australian Army Nursing Service who had nursed him during his illness.

Post-war he held the rank of captain in the Australian Army Reserve. He established the business of Grieve, Gardner & Co., softgoods warehousemen, in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and was managing director until 4 October 1957 when he died of cardiac failure.

He was buried with military honours in Springvale cemetery. Grieve's medal was presented by his family to Wesley College in 1959, and has been lent to the Shrine of Remembrance, where it is on permanent display.

7 June 1918 - Mostly a quiet day as US forces prepare to renew the offensive and the German units bring in relief.

http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/ct_bw.htm_________________
“I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, l hope you have the strength to start all over again.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

In June 1918, a scandal broke out in Guelph, Ontario when a small force of militiamen raided a Jesuit seminary in search of young draft dodgers.

Given different circumstances, an event like the Guelph Raid may not have received much attention in the media, but the affair was the talk of the country for almost a year as it brought into focus, and to the forefront of Canadian consciences, conflicts that were already dividing the country.

The Military Service Act

Enacted on 6 July 1917, the Military Service Act allowed Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden to introduce conscription if he felt that enlistment rates were too low. Under certain circumstances, though, men could apply to a local tribunal for an exemption from this law. For example, practicing clergy members of recognized religious denominations could be spared the call of duty if their faith prohibited combat. The wording of the Act was a major reason for the Guelph Raid, as few were certain if the young men of St Stanislaus, as theological students, could be considered "clergy."

The Lead-Up to the Guelph Raid

The events that would eventually result in the June 1918 raid began as early as November 1917 when the Guelph area military representative, Henry Westoby, asked the men of St Stanislaus - a Jesuit seminary where young men trained to join the clergy - to present themselves for the requisite medical inspection. Father Henri Bourque, the priest who was in charge of St Stanislaus, responded by asking Guelph MP and Canada's Solicitor General, Hugh Guthrie, to look into the matter.

Guthrie informed Westoby that the Jesuits at St Stanislaus were exempt from service, but unfortunately, this did not stop one Reverend Kennedy Palmer, a Presbyterian minister and outspoken anti-Catholic, from encouraging further investigation into the novitiate.

Kennedy's encouragement, in addition to that of the Guelph Ministerial Association, resulted in a minor inquiry into the novitiate. This led to a series of misinterpreted and poorly phrased memos and notes that would bring about Captain A. C. MacAuley's instructions to clean out the novitiate.

The Raid of St Stanislaus

With a small group of men, MacAuley was allowed entry into St Stanislaus Novitiate on 7 June 1918, where he proceeded to demand that all of the men be brought before him for questioning. After much arguing and under protest, Bourque had the young men brought downstairs, where they were all assumed by MacAuley to be defaulters because they did not have exemption certificates.

MacAuley only arrested three men, though, including Marcus Doherty, the son of the Minister of Justice, Charles Doherty. Marcus phoned his father in Ottawa before leaving St Stanislaus to inform him of what was occurring, and the senior Doherty immediately responded by beginning a series of phone calls that resulted in MacAuley being told to retire for the night and leave the men at St Stanislaus.

The Guelph Raid and Ethnic Divisions

English- and French-Canadians had been at odds for many years, but the division was deepened further by the introduction of Conscription. Generally speaking, English-Canadians felt compelled by their loyalty to Great Britain to join in the war effort, but French-Canadians felt no loyalty to any European country, and thus had no interest in fighting in what they saw as a European war.

The Jesuits of St Stanislaus Novitiate were primarily young French-Canadians, and were under the tutelage of a migrant from Montreal, while the raiders were decidedly English-Canadians. There was little doubt in the minds of most Canadians that this had played a large part in the raid.

The Guelph Raid and Religious Divisions

Furthermore, there was obvious anti-Catholic sentiment across Ontario at the time of the Raid. As such, the group of seemingly eligible young Catholics who refused conscription found themselves the topic of much bitterness and contempt within the city of Guelph.

The subsequent media coverage, however, made Canadians recognize the discrimination against Catholics within their country, thus paving the way for increased tolerance.

The Importance of the Raid of St Stanislaus

Though no men were sent to prison or injured in the Guelph Raid, the events of 7 June 1918 are significant in Canadian history. The thoughts of most Canadians were focused on the events in Europe, but the Guelph Raid brought to their attention the divisions and conflicts that were present within the country itself.

Sources:
Johnson, Leo A. History of Guelph: 1827-1927. Guelph: Guelph Historical Society, 1977.
Rutherdale, Robert. Hometown Horizons: Local Responses to the Great War. Toronto: UBC Press, 2004.
Ontario and the First World War 1914-1918: A Collection of Documents. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977.

Died of Illness - EAGLESOME
Driver R.J.Eaglesome, died of illness, was 2nd son of Mr W. Eaglesome (Springbank, late of Prebbleton). He was born at Prebbleton, age 24, educated at the district school, enlisted in the 6th reinforcements and was previously employed by the Paparua County Council. --- saw service in Gallipoli, ---- proceeded to France --- was in the Somme and Messines battles, in July 1917 was sent to England suffering from pleurisy --- eldest brother Private Murray Eaglesome was killed in action on 12 October another brother Claude is in the trenches.

7th June known as Sette Giugno, this is in remembrance of the riots of 1919 when the Maltese population revolted against the British government to obtain some form of representative government. Four people died when fire was opened on the protesters. One of the four men was Giuseppe Bajada who hailed from Xaghra-Gozo. He happened to be in Malta on that fateful day when he went to obtain a passport to emigrate. He found himself amongst the rioting crowd and according to Giuse Orlando, quoted by Herbert Ganado, the the ensuing melee he was hit while in 'Strada Teatro' and fell down holding the Maltese flag. To remember the tragic events and the death of Guiseppe Bajada and the others The 7th June of every year is a Public holiday.

Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC (15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915) was a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. (...)

Award of Victoria Cross - Warneford was 23 years old, and a Flight Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy's 1 Squadron, RNAS when the following action took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 7 June 1915 at Ghent, Belgium, Warneford, flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L, attacked and completely destroyed the German airship LZ37 in mid air. He had chased the airship from the coast near Ostend and, despite its defensive machine-gun fire, succeeded in dropping his bombs on it, the last of which set the airship on fire. The explosion overturned the attacking plane and stopped its engine. Having no alternative, Warneford had to land in hostile country, but after 35 minutes spent on repairs, he managed to restart the engine and returned to base.

Death in Flying Accident - On 17 June 1915, Warneford received the award of Légion d'honneur from the French Army Commander in Chief, General Joffre. Following a celebratory lunch, Warneford travelled to the aerodrome at Buc in order to ferry an aircraft for delivery to the RNAS at Veurne. Having made one short test flight, he then flew a second flight, carrying an American journalist, Henry Beach Newman, as passenger. During a climb to 200 feet, the right wings collapsed leading to a catastrophic failure of the airframe. Accounts suggest that neither occupant was harnessed and were thrown out of the aircraft, suffering fatal injuries. In the case of Newman, death was instantaneous. Warneford died of his injuries on the way to hospital. He was buried at Brompton Cemetery, London on 21 June 1915 in a ceremony attended by thousands of mourners.

According to a Reuter's message the Greeks are "much preoccupied" at the seizure of strategic positions on Greek territory by Bulgarian troops. The preoccupation, it is thought, should have been done by the Allies.

A soldier at Salonika has sent a live tortoise home to his relatives at Streatham. The tortoise, it is understood, was too fidgety to bear up against its surroundings and was sent home for a little excitement.

If, on the other hand, the tortoise was just sent as a souvenir we should discourage the practice. The tendency on the part of our soldiers in India and Egypt to send home elephants and camels as mementos of the localities in which they are serving is already putting something of a strain upon the postal authorities.

According to The Somerset and Wilts Journal the songs sung by the boys and girls of the Radstock National Schools on Empire Day included "Raise the Flagon High." We cannot but think this Bacchic theme a little unsuitable for our youthful songsters.

Then, later in May 1916, the German attacks shifted from the left bank (Mort-Homme and Côte 304) and returned to the right bank, south of Fort Douaumont. They found a focus on Fort Vaux which was shelled continuously by the heaviest German siege guns. After a final assault initiated on 1 June by nearly 10,000 German shock troops, they occupied the top of the fort on 2 June. However, the underground casemates of Fort Vaux still remained under French control. Then close fighting proceeded underground for five days, barricade by barricade, in the narrow corridors of the fort. The French garrison of Fort Vaux, led by a Major Raynal, finally surrendered on 7 June when the defenders had run out of water. Up to this point, losses had been appalling on both sides. General Pétain had attempted to spare his troops by remaining on the defensive, but he had been relieved on 1 May from his Verdun command and promoted to lead the overall Centre Army Group which still included the Verdun sector.

Kranten waren toen een stuk leuker...http://www.shgv.nl/KrantenArtikelen/1917.htm_________________
“I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, l hope you have the strength to start all over again.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE RED ARMY - Speech at the First All-Russia Congress of Military Commissars, June 7, 1918

Comrades, we are present at a congress of exceptional importance. The parties represented in this assembly have behind them a great revolutionary past. Nevertheless, at this time we are learning, and we must succeed in learning, how to build our own revolutionary socialist army, which shall be the complete contrary of those regiments, now demobilised, which were held together by the will of the masters, who introduced compulsory discipline into them. Before us lies the task of creating an army organised on the principle of comradely trust and revolutionary labour-order. This is, without any doubt, an extraordinarily great, complex and difficult task. Incidentally, the bourgeois press writes a lot about our having only now, at last, understood that to defend the country an armed force is needed. That is nonsense, of course: we knew, even before the October Revolution, that so long as the class struggle continues between the exploiters and the working people, any revolutionary state must be strong enough to repulse successfully the imperialist onslaught. The Russian Revolution, unprecedented in strength, could not, of course, retain the old Tsarist army, within which had been formed, like a stout strong point, a heavy class discipline that established a bond of compulsion between soldier and commander.

The following stories are from the diary of a soldier named Willard Newton. He served with the Hornets' Nest Riflemen and the 105th Engineers of North Carolina during World War I. His diary appeared as a series entitled "Over There For Uncle Sam" in The Charlotte Observer in 1920.

June 7, 1918 - Land is sighted about 10 o'clock in the morning and as the transport moves forward it comes more distinct. Hundreds of destroyers and submarine chasers can be noticed sailing about the water seeing that a German sub does not make its appearance without a warm reception. Occasionally one or two of them would make a fast run to where they thought a German sub was trying to come up. I am put on detail that is cleaning up the deck we occupy. We sweep the deck, empty the garbage cans, and scrub the steps leading into our mess hall. We are sailing down between Scotland and Ireland. About noon all of the ships in the convoy suddenly turn around and start in the opposite direction, while submarine chasers and destroyers rush forward to find out the trouble, but we did not get an opportunity to learn the reason for the sudden turning. About 3:30 p. m. the transport comes into good view of Liverpool.

January 1, 1918 - Started Preliminary training.
June 5, 1918 - I am on guard tonight -- 3rd. relief.
June 6, 1918 - Expecting Fritz to break through tonight, consequently have to spend night in gunpit.
June 7, 1918 - Went to Bde. Hqs. on fatigues all day. 8 inch shells drop round our gunpit while I am away. I brought back a few souvenirs.
June 8, 1918 - Sent a letter home today.June 18, 1918 -

"Robert Arnsby, the owner of this diary, died today after about nine days illness ---gas poisoning."

Bobby is buried at the Pernes British Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France

The Treaty of Brno was signed on June 7, 1920 in Brno between representatives of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Based on the terms of the treaty, both nations agreed to naturalize all populaces within their respective language groups. Anyone, for example, who was an official resident of Austria (i.e. Heimatgemeinde) was automatically regarded as Austrian. Individuals living in Austria prior to the hostilities of 1914 would be given special treatment while they are being naturalized. Except for Jewish groups, many Czechs, Slovaks and Italians that migrated to Austria were able to easily acquire citizenship.

(...) Lionel joined the 1st South African Horse ( 'B' Squad,1st Mounted Brigade) in Pretoria as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1915 [4], now embarking on his third war. He was a troop commander serving under General Van Deventer, a Boer officer, and would be up against the formidable German soldier General Von Lettow-Vorbeck.

Sailing to Mombassa and thence riding overland to Nairobi, Lionel's brigade moved south into German East Africa to harass the Germans. His first action was at Kahe near the Pangane river, followed on April 3rd by the attack on Lol Kisale hill near Arusha. With his batman – a fellow Geordie – in attendance, Sos alone with his troop managed to convince three German officers with three machine guns and 430 askaris, that they were surrounded, forcing them to surrender the hilltop post.

He was later ordered to take his troop behind the lines to act as scouts for the British main force. Now a temporary captain ('Special Service') [5], he was involved in many skirmishes with Von Lettow's men, sending back valuable information to Van Deventer. He enjoyed such work because he was his own master and was able to use his own initiative.

In May 1916 he was detailed to prepare an airstrip for eight Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) aircraft which were to join them and act as Reconnaissance. Sos immediately volunteered on June 7th 1916 as an Observer and was seconded to the RNAS No. 7 Squadron, serving as No 2 to Ft Lt Leslie Brown. He flew in BE2C's and Voisins and was involved in several skirmishes and crash landings as well as anti-aircraft and artillery attacks from the Germans, until his transfer out on 21st Feb 1917. In his report, East African Air Commander Eric R C Nanson described Sos as a 'very capable and zealous officer'. [6]

Gradually, Von Lettow retreated into Mozambique and Sos was ordered to British Field Intelligence Force from 21/2/1917, forming his own unit called 'Co-Force' [7] with 40 askaris and one European Officer, their job to harass Von Lettow's camps and depots behind his lines. In one episode he carried out a brilliant Commando-style raid, crossing the Ruvuma river on rafts, in complete silence at night, whilst it was in full flood, and when least expected, falling upon a German post and taking 25 prisoners.

Sending the prisoners back under escort, Sos then fortified a nearby kopje (hill) and dug in to await an approaching German column under Col. Tafel, whom he had been warned was on his way to the area trying to escape into Mozambique. Hugely outnumbered by Tafel, Sos decided that the only solution was a full scale bayonet charge, before the hill was surrounded. So surprised by such impudence, and in hand to hand combat, the German force broke and ran as Sos and his men hurtled down the hill at them!

Sos continued his 'Offensive Reconnaissance' forays until his force was disbanded in late 1917, whence he was appointed liaison officer to Portugese HQ in Mozambique. During this period, a Col. Gore-Brown's unit of the Kings African Rifles was cut off and short of ammunition in the bush. The Portugese, now officially allies, refused to move, however, so Sos took his Sudanese sergeant and a motor launch full of supplies, up the Nyamakura river to relieve them, sailing back at night to his base at Quelimane.

Unfortunately, Gore-Brown's force was attacked next day and wiped out.

For his work in East Africa, Lionel received the MC on Feb 1st 1917 (London Gazette) 'for valuable services rendered in military operations in the field' (announced in the Jewish Chronicle on Feb. 9th). He was promoted to Captain 6.1.1918, Major on 16.2.1918, and later was awarded the DSO (London Gazette 27/7/1918) [8] for 'valuable services rendered with military operations in East Africa'. He was also Mentioned in Despatches 11.10.1917 ('For meritorious service in the field'), 31.1.1919 and 8.12.1920 ('For distinguished service during operations in East Africa'). (...)